GBOYH Verse: Tarnished Diamonds
by Kendell
Summary: Sequel to Getting Back On Your Hooves. Not only did Diamond Tiara see a pony she admired fall from grace, she witnessed something far worse. Her potential future self. The monster she could be if nothing changed. Can Diamond Tiara change the winds of fate and alter her future? Or will the nightmare the monstrous Checker Monarch unleashed be repeated?


Hello everyone, time for another installment in the GBOYH Verse! Today, I set out to give a redemption story to a certain spoiled rotten brat like I did to Trixie. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**GBOYHverse: Tarnished Diamonds**

**Chapter 1**

**To Look in The Mirror**

**By Godzillawolf**

"Hehe...wonderful isn't it, Silver Spoon?"

"Yes Diamond..."

Diamond Tiara watched the scene before her with a smug, cruel smirk as Applebloom stomped up to her.

"You...you...you…" the yellow Earth Pony's face was the picture of despair and rage.

"_I_ did something?" asked Diamond, feigning innocence so perfectly that she'd have fooled Applebloom if the farm pony didn't know any better. "Whatever makes you say that?"

"Because yah told meh yah'd do this!"

"Can you _prove_ I did?"

Applebloom was taken back. "Well...Ah...Ah…"

"Just like you were able to 'prove' that I was the one who called you blank flanks all the time? Or that I was the one who convinced you Granny Smith was an embarrassing screw up? Daddy punished me for insulting her in class, you had nothing to do with it."

The Earth Pony lowered her ears.

"Face it, what have you _ever_ been able to prove I did, blank flank?"

"...N-Nothin'…"

"And do you have any more proof than you ever had before?"

"...No…"

"Is anything different than any of the _other_ times we've been through this?"

"...N-No…"

"Then it's just my word versus yours," the tiara wearing Earth Pony replied in a sing song voice. "But go ahead, tell them mean old Diamond Tiara's big plan is to ruin an innocent family's lives'."

Diamond smirked cruelly, the pink mare looking over Applebloom's shoulder to see the Apple Family sitting crying outside of their boarded up, run down farm. Applebloom's foals were bawling their eyes out. What were their names? Diamond didn't know and didn't care. All she cared about was making sure they were out of earshot.

"And then you know what I'll do? I'll act the part of the wounded mare who's been accused of such horrible things on false grounds. Because guess what, Applebloom? You have no proof! You'd be right, but who's going to believe the dumb, dirt poor farmer over the rich, powerful business mare?"

"Well...well…"

"That's right, no pony. All you'll do is let me sue the Cutie Mark off you...if you'd ever earned one."

Applebloom growled. The adult blank flank barely held herself back from pouncing on Diamond.

"Now get out of my face before I have you arrested for trespassing on _my_ property," the business mare spat.

"...Ah shoulda known you'd do this after how you ruined your folks…"

"You say ruined, I say 'took over the company in a hostile takeover,'" she said as Applebloom had to trot off, heading down to her ruined family. Diamond just laughed cruelly. "Wasn't that fun, Silver?"

"Y-Yes, Diamond…" the silver mare stuttered, trembling next to her 'friend' in terror.

Diamond turned to her with a menacing glare. "That didn't sound like you're having fun."

"S-sorry…"

"You'd better try again, this time with spirit. Or would you rather I rethink my company's deal with your daddy's business?"

Silver's eyes shrank to pinpricks. "No! It was fun! Look at how wide I'm smiling!" she said, forcing the widest smile she could manage.

"That's better...and don't call me Diamond, call me Miss Tiara, got it?"

"Y-Yes D-Diamond-I mean Miss Tiara!"

Diamond smirked, the cruel mare turning back to the ruined farm. "Now, I think it's time to start redoing the place. Are the Flim Flam Brothers on their way?"

"Y-Yes, Miss Tiara…"

"And Scootaloo and Sweetie?"

"...They're being arrested on false charges as we speak."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Y-Your parents sent another letter a-asking for help, M-Miss Tiara...it appears your mother is...getting sick again…"

"Politely write back and tell them to spend the money they're using to send the letters on more important things. If they have money for that, they've got no business bothering me."

"Y-Yes Miss Tiara."

* * *

"NO!" yelled Diamond, eyes snapping open.

She laid in the dark, panting heavily in a cold sweat, staring into Luna's night, her body trembling in terror.

The Earth Pony finally fumbled for the light and managed to pull the cord on the magic empowered lamp next to her bed with her teeth.

Diamond untangled herself from her covers and looked herself over from head to hoof, feeling herself. Still a filly.

She looked around the room. Mounds of stuffed animals. The most cutting edge video games she could think of to ask her parents for. A Power Ponies poster on the ceiling. A dozen pictures of herself in various poses. A few of her parents and Silver Spoon...all with the self-centered filly in them.

Diamond Tiara galloped to the huge vanity mirror in her room and looked at herself. Mane style still the same. Eyes still the same. No business suit. Just plain old Diamond Tiara.

She gave a sigh of relief. "T-Thank Cadence...it was just a nightmare…"

The foal gave a shaky grin...then for a moment, she swore the image in the mirror turned into a blue unicorn mare with a white mane giving a sadistic smirk back her way.

Diamond gave a cry of fright and fell out of the chair, hitting her head on the floor. "Ow…" she muttered, rubbing her head. She groaned, getting back to her hooves and looking back in the mirror with a child's fear. "J-Just a normal mirror, Diamond Tiara...calm down…You're just seeing things. Relax…"

The filly examined herself in her vanity mirror. She touched a hoof to the bags forming under one of her eyes. When was the last time she'd slept well?

_"Good job, you really are a lot like I was when I was a kid. Keep up the good work. Some day you might be just like me."_

Diamond shuddered. She held a hoof to her stomach as it clinched up just thinking about those words. "...Why do I keep feeling sick? Momma and daddy took me to the doctor, they said I was fine! So why do I keep feeling like this?" she asked in frustration. The spoiled foal gave a growl at the thought of not having control over her own body.

Then her eyes fell on a group picture of herself, Silver, and both their parents.

The filly trotted over to it and looked at it with a frown.

_"Y-Your parents sent another letter a-asking for help, M-Miss Tiara...it appears your mother is...getting sick again…"_

_"Politely write back and tell them to spend the money they're using to send the letters on more important things. If they have money for that, they've got no business bothering me."_

_"Y-Yes Miss Tiara."_

Diamond Tiara shuddered as what she'd realized that day came back full force. "I...I don't want to do that to them...I don't want to do…"

"_Checker, how could you do this to your own sister?!"_

"_My sister? Do you think that really matters? You don't get it, do you?! The strong rule the weak! I can manipulate everypony else as easy as breathing! That means I'm the strongest! That makes you and everypony else the weak. And that means you are all just my pawns to do with as I please whenever I feel like it!"_

The filly hugged the picture to her chest, fear induced tears starting down her face. "I...I don't want to be like...like her…"

She realized what she was doing and shook her head. "C-Come on Diamond, this isn't like you. You're a confident, strong, and composed young mare!" she stated, taking a smug pose. "You just...need to figure out what it was that she saw in you that was like her and then do away with it! That's all!...Now, what did she say that about?"

She put her hoof to her chin and thought back hard to that day...the moment she'd ended up seeing her potential future. When she remembered, her eyes went wide.

"She saw me making fun of the blank flanks and their loser dragon friend?!" the schoolyard bully asked in disbelief and a bit anger. Not at anyone in specific but at whatever cruel cosmic force had gotten the bright idea to play a joke on her. "Come on! That...that can't be it, can it?"

She thought about the situation in as much detail as her young mind could manage. "Oh! There was...no, I hadn't done that yet...There was...no, I'd done that in my house...what about-No, Miss Monarch was backstage by then…"

The little filly wracked her brain, looking for any possible thing the insidious mare could've seen in her. But she kept coming back to one thing. The thing she'd spent every moment from that day till now trying to avoid admitting to herself but now, sleep deprived and terrified, could not deny. She gave a bitter, angry, annoyed sigh...then groaned, holding her stomach, the sick feeling getting worse as she thought about that moment.

"...Ugh...Okay, let's think about this...she saw me picking on them and told me I reminded her of herself as a foal...that is literally the only thing I did other than walking…"

The bully then blinked, it occurring to her how much of her life seemed to revolve around making those three fillies as miserable as she possibly could...she found her ears pin for some reason and the sick feeling getting so bad she was tempted to run to the bathroom just to be on the safe side.

"...So that means all I've got to do to not become like…her is…" the pink filly pinned her ears and gave a growl ."Stop...stop...stop teasing...the...theblankflanks!" she spat out finally, gagging on her words. The thought of being being nice to those blank flanks made her sick to her stomach...well, sicker. "That's what she said made me like her, right? So I'll just stop doing it…Y-Yeah! I don't have to be nice, I just have to not be mean! I can do that...right?"

She got back to the mirror and stared into it. "It'll be easy. I don't need to make fun of them. I can quit whenever I want, right?" she asked, giving a nervous smile that just barely convinced herself.

"Right! From this moment forth, Diamond Tiara will never pick on the blank flanks again!"

* * *

Pinkie suddenly shot out of her bed on the other side of Ponyville, her Pinkie Sense going crazy for a moment. Gummy looked up at her as she landed back on her bed and blinked. "My Pinkie Sense is tingling. I sense a disturbance in the status quo, as if, if this were an episode, every bronies' jaws would have just dropped in disbelief…"

Gummy blinked twice.

"...Yeah, you're right, Gummy! Probably just Trixie being our friend now! Goodnight!"

* * *

Diamond then blinked, staring into the mirror in confusion as the weight of what she said just and thought about doing. "...I can't believe I just said that! Those three miserable little pains in my mane get off way too easy if I stop reminding them they're-" he gaze returned to the picture of her family and friend. "...I-I'll do it...For daddy, momma, and Silver…And only for them! Certainly not for the _blank flanks!_"

The foal looked out the window at the sky. "You'd better be grateful universe! You owe me for making me do this! Do you hear me?!" she yelled, shaking a hoof.

She jumped as a lightning bolt lit up the sky and thunder boomed. "Sorry! I didn't mean it!" she yelled and pulled her head back into the room, slamming the window shut.

* * *

Derpy blinked, having simply been jumping on a nearby cloud to get all the lightning out of it and burn off a late night energy burst. "...Did somepony say something?"

* * *

Diamond curled back up under her covers. "You can do this, Diamond Tiara. You just need to never, ever say a mean word about Applebloom and those los-those friends of hers ever again. Then you'll never turn into...her. How hard can that be?...Ugh...and why won't this weird stomach ache go away?"

* * *

"Are you doing well today, Golden?" asked Filthy Rich, sitting at their breakfast table bigger than some pony's entire dining rooms with his family, looking up from his newspaper.

"Much better, dear," replied Diamond's mother, the Earth Pony mare very similar in coloration to her daughter, only with longer, curlier hair. The mare had a rather muscular physique to her, and currently wore nothing. "The doctors say I'm almost completely recovered from my...illness."

Filthy gave a warm smile. "I'm very glad to hear that."

"So am I...Princess, are you okay?" the mare asked in a concerned tone, taking notice of their daughter.

Diamond looked up from her stack of potato pancakes and waffles, made with herbs she knew most ponies couldn't afford even if they knew what they were and covered with syrup, whip cream, and butter, and soy omelets made with imported cheese. She had hardly touched it.

"Oh! I'm fine momma! I just had some bad nightmares last night…"

Golden Tiara frowned. "Do you want to talk about it, honey?"

Diamond looked at her mother, who was now looking at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" Filthy Rich asked his daughter, lowering the newspaper he held between his fetlocks and giving his daughter his full attention.

Diamond blinked, finding herself in a position she was normally all too happy to be in. The center of attention.

She looked back and forth nervously for a moment…then did what she did best.

"...I...I had a nightmare that you lost everything…" she whimpered, pinning her ears and giving puppydog eyes.

Her mother hugged her. "Oh Diamond, it's okay. You don't have to worry about that, right Filthy?" the older mare asked.

Mr. Rich gave his wife a smile and nodded, getting up from his chair and trotting over to give his little princess a hug. "That's right, Golden. We've got plenty of money and Rich's Barnyard Bargains isn't in any danger of going out of business any time soon."

Diamond smiled and nuzzled her parents. "Y-Yeah...that's what I was afraid of...thank you momma, thank you daddy."

"Anything for our little princess," Golden replied, releasing her filly.

Mr. Rich nodded. "Now, we can talk business later, eat your breakfast, Diamond Tiara. You don't want to be late for school."

Diamond's eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "Right...school…" she said, returning to her meal halfheartedly. "...and the blank flanks…" she muttered giving a gulp.

* * *

Diamond slowly trotted towards the school. As slowly as possible without being late. For once the little foal was glad her father had decided she 'needed some exercise' and had her walk instead of taking the family carriage.

"It'll be fine, Diamond, just find a seat away from the blank flanks, then you won't have a chance to pick on them, then you don't have to worry about becoming like...her," Diamond muttered to herself, feeling her stomach tighten. "Right? Right."

"Scootaloo! Slow down!"

Diamond blinked, turning and looking behind her. "Oh come on!"

"We'll be late if I slow down, Sweetie!"

Diamond yelped, jumping out of the way of the almost out of control wagon pulled by an orange pegasus on a scooter.

Which promptly skidded to a stop. "Sorry!" Sweetie Belle yelled.

Scootaloo gave a look. "Why are you apologizing? It's Diamond Tiara!"

"Do you WISH we'd hit her?" the little unicorn asked narrowing her eyes.

Scootaloo opened her mouth...then sighed. Bully or not, she was still a pony. "...No…sorry…"

Applebloom looked to Diamond. "Are yah okay Diamond?"

"No! Of course I'm not you stu-" Diamond started yelling...then her insult came to a screeching halt and she looked a little sick. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dirty…" she said, smiling nervously and dusting herself off. "That's all."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had a collective jaw drop and looked at each other. "Uh...a-are sure you're okay?" asked Sweetie Belle, staring wide eyed.

"Yeah, of course I am," Diamond muttered, eyes darting around then pointing. "Hey! Look! Cloud Gremlins!"

The CMC looked in the direction as Diamond ran off towards the school.

"Hey!" yelled Rainbow Dash, flying up to a dark cloud with two red, pointed eared monsters with flight jackets on it. She gave a frustrated sigh. "You guys again? Alright, this time, I'm just getting my friends to zap you BEFORE you make your stupid big cloud of-"

"Ahh! The rainbow maned one again! Run!" one of the Gremlins yelled as both screamed like little fillies, took their cloud, and ran for the hills. "You said she was on vacation!"

Rainbow just blinked in confusion. "Uh...yeah! You better run!"

"Good job Rainbow!" Scootaloo exclaimed happily.

"Thanks Scoots!" the rainbow maned pegasus called back and flew off.

Sweetie blinked, looking back to where Diamond was standing. "Hey! She ran off!"

"So?" Scootaloo asked. "Shouldn't we be happy about that?"

"Yeah...but...she didn't even call us Blank Flanks!" the little unicorn gasped.

Her friends both mimicked her gasp.

"She's right!" the CMC's Earth Pony exclaimed. "Do yah think she's sick?"

"Nah, she's probably just plotting something," Scootaloo replied, the orange pegasus looking around just in case. "Like she always is. Silver Spoon's probably waiting somewhere to see us fall for it or something."

"...Yeah, probably…" Sweetie admitted, giving a confused look at where the filly was standing. "I'm just a little...weirded out."

"Yeah, I think we all are," Scootaloo replied, rubbing her head. She gave a shrug. "Ah well, probably just her daddy threatening to take away her fancy toys or something. Come on, we've got to get to class."

* * *

Diamond panted, skidding to a stop at the door to the little school house. "O-Okay, we're here…"

She walked into the room…and realized the only other pony there was Cheerilee. "Oh, hello Diamond Tiara. You're early," the teacher said, giving a smile.

Diamond looked around, coat drenched in sweat. She realized this was a first. She had never been here first. She'd only been here…without Silver Spoon when Silver was sick. The rich filly felt strangely naked. "Uh…yeah…" she said, forcing a smile. "Just wanted to get a head start for a change!"

Cheerilee smiled. "That's very impressive of you, Diamond. I'm proud."

The Earth Pony filly took a seat in the empty classroom…and sat alone with her own troubled mind.

* * *

And so it begins! I hope you enjoy this story! May we have another awesome ride!


End file.
